Acts 8:26-39 King James Version August 13, 2017 The International Bible Lesson (Uniform Sunday School Lessons Series) for Sunday, August 13, 2017, is from Acts 8:26-39. Questions for Discussion and Thinking Further follow the verse-by-verse International Bible Lesson Commentary. Study Hints for Discussion and Thinking Further will help with class preparation and in conducting class discussion: these hints are available on the International Bible Lessons Commentary website along with the International Bible Lesson that you may want to read to your class as part of your Bible study. You can discuss each week s commentary and lesson at the International Bible Lesson Forum. (Acts 8:26) And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. After his successful preaching mission in Samaria, Philip returned to Jerusalem, for the angel told him to go down from Jerusalem, where he was staying. In the New Testament, angels help believers do their duty, help believers escape from prison, give believers a message from God, and act in other helpful ways. Angels do not teach the good news about Jesus Christ in order to lead unbelievers to saving faith; this is the responsibility of believers. The only possible exception that I am aware of is when angels proclaimed the good news of Jesus birth to the shepherds. God wanted Philip, not an angel, to teach the eunuch about Jesus and the good news of salvation. In a similar way, God wanted Peter, not an angel, to tell Cornelius the good news of saving faith. (Acts 8:27) And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, We have no indication that the angel told Philip what to do on the road or what to expect on the road. Philip obeyed and got up and went without delay. Luke now introduces the Ethiopian eunuch, who may have been a Jew, or who may have been a convert to Judaism, or a God-fearer (one who believed in the God of the Bible and the morality of
P a g e 2 God s Law, but who had not converted to Judaism by performing the required ceremonial rites). The eunuch was a wealthy, influential, high-ranking official who had traveled to Jerusalem to worship God. As the treasurer for the queen of the Ethiopians, he was influential and would report all of his experiences to the queen and her court. (Acts 8:28) Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Scrolls of the Old Testament were expensive and usually kept in the temple or synagogues. The eunuch was wealthy enough to have a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. In synagogue worship, the prophet Isaiah and other Old Testament scrolls would have been read aloud and then explained to people (who could not afford a scroll of any part of the Bible unless they were wealthy). (Acts 8:29) Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Whereas an angel first spoke to Philip, and he did what he was told without knowing all the details; now the Holy Spirit speaks to Philip in actual words (Philip did not just feel a leading by the Holy Spirit which sometimes happens too). Philip had to walk alongside the chariot (it would not have been going fast as though it were running in a chariot race). The chariot was probably going at a walking pace because the road was probably crowded, and the horses and chariots had to travel a long distance to Ethiopia. The chariot was going slow enough for the Ethiopian to read a scroll. (Acts 8:30) And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? After Philip ran up to walk beside the chariot, he did not need to walk far, because he recognized that the eunuch was reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. Most reading was done aloud, and Philip could identify from the words he heard that Isaiah was being read. The Holy Spirit probably influenced the eunuch to read those verses at that moment in time. Philip knew the verses applied to Jesus, so his question was natural as he was guided by the Holy Spirit to ask it. (Acts 8:31) And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
P a g e 3 The eunuch recognized that Philip could teach him, because the Holy Spirit moved him to seek understanding from Philip; therefore, he invited Philip to teach him in the chariot as they continued on their way rather than stopping for Philip to explain Isaiah to him. Perhaps the eunuch thought he and Philip were going in the same direction for some length of time. (Acts 8:32) The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: The Holy Spirit had to arrange for the eunuch to be reading this passage with perfect timing (Isaiah is a long book), and Philip knew exactly how that passage spoke of Jesus and predicted Jesus suffering and death. Jesus went to the cross willingly, for He came to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins. He was led to the cross by His Heavenly Father and by the religious leaders and Roman soldiers who crucified Him. He did not open His mouth to defend himself when He was tried or hanging on the cross. He told truth to Pilate, who asked Jesus questions with honest intent to learn from Him. (Acts 8:33) In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. Philip could explain how false witnesses were brought forward at Jesus mock trial justice had been denied Him. Philip could describe Jesus humiliation as He was beaten and had a crown of thorns pressed upon His head. Jesus generation could not be described or explained, because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus died, and He rose again, and at the ascension Jesus life was taken from the earth, where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus had no children, no physical descendants. We can only speak of His spiritual descendants, as believers are the adopted children of God the Father through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. (Acts 8:34) And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? After he read these verses, the eunuch asked a good question. Was Isaiah speaking about what he had experienced personally or was he speaking what he thought might be the experience of someone else? If it was going to happen to someone else, who was that person and had it happened to him yet? Philip was prepared to answer all of the eunuch s questions and lead him to faith in Jesus.
P a g e 4 (Acts 8:35) Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. Beginning with the verse from Isaiah in Acts 8:32-33, Philip began to explain about Jesus. He could explain that about 600 years before Jesus birth, Isaiah foretold Jesus first coming and that Jesus came as God s gift to us, as a sacrifice for our sins. He could tell the eunuch that he could accept this good news about Jesus and believe in Jesus and have his sins forgiven, be cleansed from all unrighteousness, and receive the gift of eternal life. (Acts 8:36) And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Philip must have explained faith, repentance, and baptism to the eunuch, because at the first sign of enough water, the eunuch wanted to be baptized, and so he asked Philip another question. Essentially, his question was this: Was there anything else he needed to believe or do before he could be baptized or before he could be saved? Philip indicated that he could be baptized at that very moment. There was no more that he needed to do to be saved, and like the many priests who believed in Jesus before him, the eunuch became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7). Some New Testament manuscripts include the answer of Philip and the eunuch s profession of faith in Jesus Christ (which is in verse 37 below, and is included in some translations of the New Testament). (Acts 8:37) The KJV includes this verse: And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The answer Philip gave and the eunuch s profession of faith in verse 37 is true to the Gospel and the New Testament. Believing with all our heart includes choosing and committing our will and way of living every moment of every day to Jesus the Messiah as our Lord and the Son of God (as reported in the Gospels). If we truly believe these facts, we will live according to these facts the Holy Spirit being our Helper. The eunuch had learned enough about Isaiah and Jesus to share the Gospel with others and baptize them according to Jesus teaching after he returned home. He could learn more about Jesus and the church with subsequent visits to Jerusalem or perhaps when one or more of the apostles or disciples (such as Thomas) went to Ethiopia to further the work
P a g e 5 that Philip began (in a way similar to Peter and John going to Samaria after Philip preached successfully there). (Acts 8:38) And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. After Philip answered his question, the chariot stopped and both went down into the water, indicating that there was sufficient water to go down into. It was deep enough and large enough for both men to enter the water. It seems Philip also needed to enter the water in order to perform the rite of baptism. And so, the eunuch was baptized by Philip (who had learned from Peter and John to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). (Acts 8:39) And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Philip had accomplished God s purpose and to prevent the eunuch from trying to persuade Philip to keep teaching him all the way to Ethiopia, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch now had the Holy Spirit living within him to help them interpret Isaiah as he continued reading on his journey no doubt rejoicing as the Holy Spirit gave him more understanding of Jesus Christ and the way of God. By the time he reached home, he was prepared to share the good news with everyone back home in Ethiopia, as the Holy Spirit within him helped him to share the good news about Jesus. In Acts 8:40, Luke tells us where the Spirit of the Lord took Philip: But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Questions for Discussion and Thinking Further 1. Before Philip met him, in what ways did the eunuch indicate that he wanted to obey God? 2. In what ways did Philip prepare himself to help the eunuch come to faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized? 3. In what ways did the angel and the Holy Spirit help Philip and the eunuch?
P a g e 6 4. How important is reading and studying the Bible for both believers and unbelievers in Jesus Christ? Give a reason for your answer. 5. When the eunuch returned to Ethiopia, do you think he taught others in Ethiopia about Isaiah the prophet and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and about the importance of repentance and baptism? Give a reason for your answer. Begin or close your class by reading the short weekly International Bible Lesson. Visit the International Bible Lessons Forum for Teachers and Students. Copyright 2017 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr. Permission Granted for Not for Profit Use. Contact: P.O. Box 1052, Edmond, Oklahoma, 73083 and lgp@theiblf.com.